An Unexpected Angel
by Kristen3
Summary: Sequel to leighann415's "You Wonderful You." Rob, still lost in his grief, calls the stranger he met at Laura's funeral. Sharing the memories of his late wife might just be the way out of his loneliness. Written as a tribute to the incredible Mary Tyler Moore.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** As soon as I read the ending of Leigh Ann ( **leighann415** )'s "You Wonderful You," I knew it had to be continued. I'm still devastated by Mary Tyler Moore's passing. Even though we all knew it was coming, it doesn't get any easier. But thankfully she left behind two sitcoms that will never be forgotten. This story is a tribute to her legacy.

Grief was harder than Rob had expected. He thought the funeral, his chance to say goodbye to Laura, would help. But it didn't. For the first few days, Richie came over for dinner. The two talked about her some, but mostly they were quiet. Even when they didn't say much, just having someone else there made the loneliness easier. But Richie had his own life, his own family to get back to.

Rob knew Sally had meant it when she said he could call anytime, but he really didn't want to burden her with his problems. He knew, even if she never said it out loud, she still missed Buddy a great deal. Millie and Jerry were both gone, too. If they were still here, he'd have called them. Having best friends right next door was something Rob took for granted, until he didn't have it anymore. He sighed as he walked around the house. This place was much too big for an old man all by himself. But the idea of selling it was unthinkable. This was where he and Laura had raised Richie. The house was full of memories. On the wall hung dozens of pictures. That was Laura's doing. As Richie's children grew, she had hung more and more pictures of their grandchildren.

Rob sighed, wondering what he should do. Watching TV sometimes took his mind off his problems, but he couldn't do that forever. There, on the kitchen table, was a pile of mail. Richie must have brought it in when he came over, knowing his father wasn't thinking about such things right now. There were a few condolence cards from neighbors and acquaintances, not to mention bills. Apparently even death wasn't enough to make creditors back off. Underneath all of those, Rob found a piece of paper with a name and phone number on it. _Where'd this come from_ , he wondered. Then it clicked. The man at Laura's funeral.

It was a strange experience, one Rob hadn't been sure was real until now, seeing the card. Out of the blue, a man had approached Rob, saying he remembered seeing Laura dance back when she was with the USO. After so many decades, he hadn't forgotten her, and he'd come all this way to pay his respects. Rob thought he remembered most of the guys from Camp Crowder, but this man was a stranger.

Staring at the number, Rob wondered if he should call. He hated the idea of bothering a man he hardly knew, but he wanted to talk to someone, and it didn't seem fair to call Sally or Richie. They had both heard enough from him as it was. Nervously, he dialed the number on the card.

The call was answered on the second ring. "I was wondering if you'd ever call," the man said.

Somehow, relief flooded Rob. He felt his nervousness melt away. "I was just wondering if you'd like to come over this afternoon. I could tell you a bit more about Laura if you'd like."

"That sounds fine," the man said. "I remember she married one of the soldiers, and then left with him. I always wondered what happened to her after that."

"Well, I can tell you all about it when you get here," Rob said. "This might sound like an odd question, but do you mind if I call you Jerry?"

The man laughed. "Why would I mind? That _is_ my name."

"Well, I know," Rob said. "It's just that my next-door neighbor's name was Jerry. Actually, he wasn't just a neighbor. He was my best friend."

"Ah," Jerry said knowingly. "I know how that feels. Friends, wife, everyone seems to be gone. It can be rough. Give me your address, and I'll make my way over there this afternoon.

Rob quickly rattled off the address, the same one he'd had for decades. Suddenly, his life didn't seem quite so empty anymore. He was grateful he'd decided to make this phone call.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that day, Rob opened his front door to find Jerry standing there. It wasn't "his" Jerry from next door, but it didn't matter. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," Jerry replied as he took off his coat. "This is a nice place you've got here."

"Thanks," Rob said. "But most of this furniture was Laura's idea. The pictures on the wall, too."

"That's understandable. I guess you've got quite a few grandchildren."

Rob nodded. "Richie's got three kids now. We didn't get to see them as much as we liked, but Rich always made sure we got pictures."

"Laura sure was something," Jerry said, looking at a picture of her and Rob.

"She sure was. I knew the moment I saw her that I wanted to marry her. I even paid some guy to let me dance with her just so I could be near her."

"Oh, that was clever," Jerry said, laughing.

"You'd think that, but it was just luck. She didn't want to have anything to do with me. But when we were dancing, I accidentally broke her foot. Then when she was in the hospital, I visited her. She couldn't say no to me then."

"Whatever works, right?" Jerry said, laughing.

"I guess," Rob replied.

"Well, I'd ask how things worked out from there, but it's pretty obvious you two got married."

Rob nodded. "Even before I left the service. It was a pretty crazy wedding."

"What happened? I mean, if you don't mind telling the story."

Rob thought for a moment. He hadn't thought about his wedding day in years. It was a story he and Laura had told often when Richie was a boy, but gradually he grew tired of hearing it repeated so often. Now, Rob had a chance to share this story with a new audience. "Well, I had cold feet, so I went for a drive on my wedding day. I lost track of time, and my Jeep wouldn't start, so I tried to run back. That turned out to be a mistake, because I sprained my ankle. By the time I got to the chapel, Laura was ready kill me."

"But clearly she didn't," said Jerry, now amused.

"No, I managed to explain, but before we could finally tie the knot, I wound up with a terrible cold. Almost missed the wedding that day, too."

"Wow," Jerry said. "I'm glad things worked out for you in the end." He glanced over at another picture, one taken shortly after Richie was born.

"Yeah," Rob agreed. "We got married, I left the Army, and then Laura got pregnant. I was a nervous father, as you can imagine."

"Who wouldn't be?"

"But once the baby came, my nerves didn't let up. No, I went even further off the deep end. I was convinced the hospital gave us the wrong baby. Laura thought I was nuts. But I wouldn't listen. Finally, I called up the other couple, the ones I thought had our kid." Rob cringed at the memory. It had been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.

"So, what happened?" Jerry asked when Rob fell silent.

"Well...the couple agreed to come over. Some of the baby gifts had gotten mixed up. And when they came, I opened the door." He paused, uncertain if he could tell this part of the story. But there was no choice. "They were black. I thought a black couple might've gotten our baby."

Jerry stared at Rob in disbelief. "You're making that up, right?"

"No!" Rob said. "I told you, I was completely out of my mind. And of course Laura loved to tell that story whenever we had company. And, boy, when Rich was going to have a baby? I thought I'd never hear the end of it!" He laughed, but deep down, he wished he could hear Laura's voice one more time. "She did love to tease me," he said, more to himself than to Jerry.

"I know you miss her," Jerry said. "That's only natural. But she wouldn't want you to feel sorry for yourself, would she?"

Rob shook his head. "I know she wouldn't, but what can I do? Laura was a great deal younger than I am. She wasn't supposed to go first."

"Things rarely go according to plan. I mean, your wedding day didn't, did it?"

"That's for sure," Rob said.

"But you got married, and now you have a funny story to tell. Isn't that what your wife would want? For you to remember those things?"

"Yeah….I guess you're right," Rob said after giving the question a moment's thought. Laura often reminded Rob of things that happened back when Richie was small. It was obvious that, although she knew her son would grow up, she missed those days terribly.

"See, you feel better now, don't you?" Jerry asked, noticing that, for the first time, Rob was smiling.

"You know, I do. But I've got memories, so what? That doesn't make me any less alone, does it?"

"No, it doesn't. Nobody can bring your wife back. But these stories you have…..have you ever thought of writing them down?"

The question caught Rob by surprise. "Writing?"

"Yeah, you know, like on a typewriter, or maybe a computer, if you can figure out how to use one."

Rob looked at Jerry in shock. Just how much did this man know about him?

Jerry began to grow uncomfortable with the way Rob was staring. "What's the matter?"

"Well, either this is the most amazing coincidence, or Laura really did send you here," Rob said. "I actually am a writer. Or, I used to be. I was the head writer of _The Alan Brady Show_ , but I haven't written a thing in years."

"I think it's basically like riding a bike," Jerry said. "What have you got to lose?"

The idea seemed ridiculous. Over the years, Rob had toyed with the idea of writing a book, but he could never finish. Why would things be any different now? Well, now, he finally had time, for one. With a wife and child, not to mention a temperamental TV star to worry about, there were always distractions. But, those problems didn't exist anymore. He had a lifetime of memories. Could he really do this, turn his life with Laura into a book?

Jerry saw Rob was contemplating the idea. "Come on. I bet your son would love a book of memories, even if it never went farther than that."

More than anything else his new friend could have said, that got Rob's attention. Soon, he too might be gone. Richie would only have a few faded photographs and some old stories to tell his children. But wouldn't something tangible be better? "You know, that's not such a bad idea," Rob finally said.

"No, it's not. People these days seem to think marriage is just a piece of paper. But what you and Laura had, that's rare. It's a love story, even better than what Hollywood could write."

Rob realized his friend was right. Even with all of the crazy events that had happened in his life, many of which he hadn't even told Jerry about, he and Laura had stayed together. Suddenly, he felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time. A sense of purpose. "Thanks for dropping by," Rob said, hoping Jerry would take the hint.

"You're gonna do it, aren't you? That's why you want me to leave, right? So you can start writing?"

"Yeah," Rob said. "Is that crazy?"

Jerry smiled. "A little. But love makes people do crazy things, doesn't it?"

Rob nodded. Love had definitely made him do crazy things before, and it was about to make him do something else he'd never expected. But he had a feeling, it might be the best thing he could ever do.

 **The End**


End file.
